My colleague said to me the other day what a great reality TV show there could be based on trade shows.  What a great idea!

Just imagine: The team is pulled together from every walk of life.  There are the veteran show goers, the yuppies, the newbies, the professionals and the trades.  The old, the young and the in-between.  Each episode they are faced with a bizarre set of circumstances which tests everything from their patience to their friendships. 

The Challenges

• There have been cutbacks.  The team is given a limited budget, way too much to do in ½ the time needed to do it and it’s sweltering hot.  The show setup time is a single day, on a Sunday. 
• Everything is last-minute and there are copious amounts of huge boxes of product to get to the show in a single trip.  Drayage isn’t in the budget.  They have to hire a single vehicle that will hold both them and the boxes.  They have to strategize how to get them onto the show floor without breaking any rules.
• Before day’s end they have to hunt down the two missing boxes of critical electronics that didn’t yet clear customs.
• They have to put the exhibit up themselves, but when they get to the booth there is no exhibit.  A computer glitch left the booth # off the label and it’s somewhere on the show floor, but where?  Which building?  They have to hunt it down.
• When the exhibit finally surfaces, the crate has been broken, their tools stolen, and the instructions strewn about.  All they have is a jackknife to put up the exhibit.
• The install is finally underway and a union worker pedals by advising they have to hire show labor.  What do the show rules say, where is the book?  It sounds like payment for nonexistent services will solve the problem.
• The company credit card was left back at the hotel, which is an hour from town – there is no going back.  The cash they have for cab fare goes to pay the bill and they’ll have to take the bus.
• There are 140,000 people attending the show and the bus lineups are over an hour long, but they have to be back to the hotel to catch up on their email or they won’t be able to attend the show next time.
• Everybody is oversubscribed and the internet has slowed to a snail’s pace and the emails all have deadlines attached to them.

What do they do?  How will they stretch their budget and keep their sanity?  There is strife and jetlag and tempers are soaring.  Who gets eliminated and why?  Who stays and why?

Do any of these challenges bring back memories?  They should, because they are all based on real-life experiences at trade shows.  Perhaps you have your own challenges to add to the program?  If your inner screenwriter is dying to get out and you have more challenges to add to the list, please add them in the comment box below!

Want to star at trade show marketing?  Get your free copy of What’s Working In Exhibiting, a 32-page white paper report that shows how your peers are improving results and stretching their budgets.  Click here to get your free copy.

Check out the Telco TV trade show organizer’s unique approach with a “Booth Crawl” to boost attendee turnout at their upcoming show in Orlando, Florida this fall.  Participating exhibitors will have drinks (both alcoholic and non) and snacks during a designated time in their booths.  Attendees are given a map to follow and check out both the refreshments and naturally exhibitor’s solutions!

This is the second year TelcoTV is doing the Booth Crawl.  They’ve already signed up Nokia Siemens Network and RGB Networks for the 2009 event.  In these difficult economic times, show organizers are getting creative and working with their exhibitors to help drive attendance.